IRVINE — Among the dozens of Expressionist and Impressionist oil paintings that Todd Marinovich has created in the last several years, there is one called “The Crown.”

The former USC and Raiders quarterback admits it is a self-portrait, an orange face crying amidst a wall of clipped newspaper headlines. The face looks to be in more pain than Edvard Munch’s “The Scream.”

As for all the headlines in the background, he said they came from a discovery of an old trunk in his grandmother’s garage.

“I couldn’t see myself saving all these things and making a scrapbook, so I used them in my art,” . The headlines included words such as “AWOL Marinovich Suspended” and “Marinovich arrested on cocaine charge” and “Trouble Is Growing For Marinovich.”

More headlines about the 47-year-old were generated in the last several days following his arrest in Irvine last Friday. He was cited and released for trespassing, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana, Irvine police Commander Mike Hallinan said Monday.

Efforts to reach Marinovich since his release have not been successful. His art-sales based website, ToddMarinovich.com, says it is “under construction” and to “check back soon.”

On Tuesday, Hallinan said Marinovich’s citation included a promise to appear in court. That date has not been set, but it is usually about 30 days after the arrest date, Hallinan said.

Irvine police have concluded their investigation, Hallinan said. Pending is the testing of substances by the Orange County Crime Lab. On the scene, the police tested a substance found in a brown paper bag near Marinovich which showed positive for amphetamines, but the lab will be able to more conclusively determine what substances it is, Hallinan said. Those results will go from the lab to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.

Hallinan said police received a call about a naked person walking on Venta Spur Trail. Marinovich was found in the back yard of a single-family residence, possibly hiding after being spotted by officers. A paper bag found nearby had marijuana, drug paraphernalia, clothing and Marinovich’s wallet containing his identification card, Hallinan said.

Officers spoke to the family who lives at the residence; nothing in their back yard had been tampered with or damaged in the arrest.

The incident happened on Bluecoat, a quarter-mile long residential street lined with older homes and well maintained lawns. The backyards of the homes adjoin Venta Spur Trail, a tree shrouded, concrete walking path.

Dorian Johnson of Irvine said Tuesday he often uses the trail and hasn’t observed anything unusual.

“I’ve never seen anything peculiar,” he said while at the trail’s entrance. “It’s usually families that are out (on the trail) for an evening stroll or morning.”

Stories and interviews done with Marinovich recently did not hint of any sort of relapse to behavior that has led to more than a half-dozen arrests on drug-related charges going back to his days at USC in the early 1990s.

Marinovich is quoted in a Locale Magazine story in April, 2015, that his marriage and the birth of his first child, Baron, in the summer of 2008 put him in a better place.

“Everything changed when Baron arrived on the scene,” Marinovich said. “I’m sober now. Life is completely different, and I’ve welcomed it with open arms.”

In 2011, he and wife, Alix, who he met during drug rehab, had a daughter, Coski, and the family lived on La Linda Place in Newport Beach, a block from the ocean.

On June 19 Father’s Day this year, Marinovich posted a video of himself on Facebook filling up water balloons with two children, writing: “A total game changer! Happy Fathers Day all you dads!” That is in addition to many photos of him and his children in places such as school, Seattle and Catalina Island.

In a book released this week called “Cardinal & Gold: The Oral History of the USC Trojans Football,” Marinovich is quoted liberally by author Steve Delsohn in a chapter entitled “Team Turmoil: 1990.”

Delsohn said he spoke by phone to Marinovich about two years ago for the book and “he seemed completely lucid, perceptive and thoughtful. I also interviewed a number of his former teammates. Almost to a man, they had positive things to say about him as a player and person. I actually thought their reactions might be more mixed, because he has always been controversial. But they seemed very loyal to him. If the news reports are correct, this is a very sad development. I’m just hoping that he can recover and find some peace in his life.”

Marinovich, who began his athletic career at Santa Ana’s Mater Dei High before graduating at Mission Viejo’s Capistrano Valley High, explained to Delsohn in the book about how his time “partying” at USC started on a recruiting trip “and it continued until my last game there. It never really stopped. Drinking a lot. Smoking a lot of pot. A little bit of cocaine, kind of just beginning with that. Sprinkled in with a little hallucinogenics.” Teammates in the book also talk about how they helped Marinovich pass drug tests by cheating.

Marinovich also told Delsohn about the best part of playing at USC: “Putting on the uniform. It was an experience like none other. … It’s special to be part of something like USC football. I didn’t realize it quite as much at that time. I understood it more the father I got away from it. But it’s super cool.”

Going back to a 2007 interview from prison where he was being held without bail for probation violation, Marinovich said something that rings true more today than it did nearly 10 years ago: “It’s not saying that I’m never going to relapse or I’m never going to make another mistake. It’s just the fact that I’m getting up and trying again, because what else can you ask for?”

He also said in the same interview: “Prior to this relapse, I’ve put together the most sober and happy days that I have.”

Based on public records and news accounts, among the incidents involving Todd Marinovich:

–1991: A cocaine possession arrest while a student at USC.

–1997: Pleaded guilty to felony growing marijuana and misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance and possession of a syringe. Served two months in jail, and a third at a minimum-security facility in Orange County.

–2001: Arrested for sexual assault, following an arrest on suspicion of heroin.

–2004: Arrested by Newport Beach police for skateboarding in prohibited zone. Pleaded guilty to misdemeanor resisting arrest. Sentenced to 18 days in jail and three years probation.

–2006: Charged with felony possession of a controlled substance. The case was later dismissed after he completed a drug court program.

–2007: Arrested and charged with felony drug possession and resisting a police order after being stopped for skateboarding near the Newport Pier boardwalk. Marinovich pleaded guilty to misdemeanor resisting arrest and charges of felony possession of a small amount of methamphetamine and misdemeanor syringe possession were dismissed. He was sent to a drug court rehab program.

–2009: Arrested in Newport Beach after he failed to appear in court for a progress review on his rehab related to his 2007 arrest. Marinovich was ordered to be held in jail without bail until his May 4 hearing before the Orange County Superior Court.

–2016: Arrested Aug. 19 in Irvine after being found naked and in possession of drugs in a neighbor’s backyard. Marinovich was cited for trespassing, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana. Police suspect the controlled substance is methamphetamine. —— (c)2016 the Daily News (Los Angeles) Visit the Daily News (Los Angeles) at www.dailynews.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. AMX-2016-08-24T09:17:00-04:00

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